Strict security measures in Switzerland for the Ukraine peace meeting

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting “NTV”, the Ukrainian peace conference will be held this weekend in the mountain paradise of Switzerland, of course, without Russia and with a lot of precautions and security measures. Swiss authorities are preparing for all scenarios, including hacker attacks, exploding drones and poisoned worm sandwiches.

Ukraine peace conference this weekend in Burgenstock, Mt. With a height of 1100 meters, which is located directly on the lake, it is held under strict security measures, with barbed wire being stretched and armed soldiers stationed around it.

Delegations 160 countries were invited to this conference by Switzerland, and finally 90 countries announced their trip to this mountain paradise, including dozens of heads of state who, according to the wishes of the hosts, should start the peace process.

Olaf Schultz, the Chancellor of Germany and Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and of course Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, are also traveling to Switzerland. The Swiss say it is not strictly a “negotiating forum” but “a meeting that serves to create a common basis for future negotiations”.

The venue of this The Peace Conference is the resort of Borgenstock. The most beautiful hotel complex in Switzerland consists of thirty buildings including four hotels. Since 2009, this resort has been owned by a subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Russia has not been invited to the peace conference. Swiss Interior Minister Ignazio Cassis said: “From the beginning, I have always emphasized that no peace process is possible without Russia. We have always expressed interest in inviting Russia. However, Russia has also publicly announced several times. has said that he is not interested in participating in this.

“Andrey Yermak”, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, has also said that even Ukrainians are not aware of this fact. They don’t like that Russia is absent. In order to create a possible peace on a broad basis, the head of the Ukrainian presidency said, “We will work with all countries that are interested in participation.”

Russia is going to participate in the second peace conference. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during his speech in the German Bundestag that Ukraine wants to give diplomacy a chance because Ukraine has never relied on the power of its weapons alone. .

The chancellor of Germany, Olaf Schultz, is even optimistic that the Swiss meeting can bring progress even without Russia. In this regard, he said: “Perhaps it is possible to show a way how to start a process in which Russia will one day be at the negotiating table.” Florian. Schütz, director of the Swiss Federal Office for Cyber ​​Security, said: One thing is certain: this high-level meeting will be a big challenge, not only politically, but above all logistically and security-wise, and the region is in a state of emergency. contract. According to him, the threat potential is very high. He assessed the threat as very realistic.

He added: However, if hackers successfully attack critical infrastructure, things will become difficult.

Newspaper “Zuidhe Zeitung” described the following scenario and wrote: Shortly before the start of the peace conference, hackers can attack the IT system of Swiss air traffic control. and cause it to fall. In this case, Swiss airspace must be closed, landings at Zurich or Geneva airports will not be possible, and invited government guests will have to land abroad or fly directly to their home country.

However, Switzerland must prepare not only for cyber threats, but also for other possible threats. The location of Bürgenstock is clearly tailored to the surveillance of security agencies. It is obvious that the cable car of this tourist area will not be operated during the conference. For this reason, there is only one access route to this area.

Chris Franzen, hotel manager, explained: Of course, this area has the advantage that access roads are easy to control. . “We have a fairly large number of rooms spread across the mountain,” said Franzen, referring to Borgenstock’s other advantages on the Swiss online portal.

However, There are dangers in the Swiss Central Alps, for example from the weather. In theory, the mini-drones could be loaded with explosives and flown into Borgenstock at night. Therefore, the airspace around Lake Lucerne within a radius of 46 km has been closed for a total of five days, and a 27 km exclusion zone has been established for drones. Only one local paraglider operator received an exemption. Swiss Army warplanes patrol the area permanently.

Surveys are also conducted underwater. Police divers protect the pillars of a bridge on the Borgenstock route. High-profile guests can usually be flown to the venue by helicopter, but if the weather is too bad, the only option is to take the land route and thus the bridge.

Daniel Keller of the Swiss military reports that a total of 4,000 troops are ensuring the security of the conference participants – for some the deployment began more than a week ago. 4,000 army troops have been stationed here from June 5 to 19 as per the decision of the Federal Council. He emphasized: “My army is trained for such an operation and knows the region and the people.” Shooters are used. The Swiss do not disclose the number of police officers and other security forces.

However, what is clear is that careful care is being taken to ensure that suspicious persons do not enter the restricted area. More than 80 government guests are staying at the Borgenstock resort, and hundreds of diplomats are accompanying the participants. About 700 hotel and restaurant employees, including almost 100 chefs, will be responsible for serving them. Employees are pre-screened accordingly.

When government guests sit down for breakfast, dinner or coffee, every slice of the bakery’s cake is scrutinized.

The conference will also be a test of patience for the residents of Borgenstock. Access to the city is now strictly controlled. Only people who work in the hotel complex or live in Bürgenstock are allowed to enter the restricted area. However, residents are not allowed to move freely: the police in charge advise residents to stay indoors if possible. “We are aware that because of the security requirements, people and businesses will be affected by the restrictions in their daily lives,” says Police Chief Stephen Grider.

If not You can stay at home or you don’t want to, you just have to move on paved roads and paths. The only exception is for farmers who are also allowed to go to their fields and pastures during the peace conference. Agricultural activity is basically possible during this time On the other hand, leisure activities are not explicitly prohibited, and for example, “cycling, running and walking” are strictly prohibited.

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